El Hoyo, Argentina

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Our day began at Morada del Sol Lodge, just outside El Bolson, Argentina. Fortunately, Andi felt a lot better this morning, so the four of us went to breakfast in the lobby and then packed our bags for departure. The staff at Morada del Sol were so friendly and accommodating. It was a nice, easy place to stay.

Valeria, the property manager, joked that it was a good day to leave because the weather had turned cooler. In reality, it wasn’t that cold. The sun was shining with temperatures in the mid-50’s. One thing we’ve noticed about Argentina’s Patagonia, though, is that the weather changes in big swings: it’s sunny and 80 degrees one day and 50’s with wind the next day. At least we’re not digging out from a big snow storm like our friends & family back home right now.

Before we left Morada del Sol, we asked Valeria if there was a place on the property the kids could spray silly string canisters they bought during Carnival weekend. Tory and Aden remembered the silly string from traveling in Ecuador last year, and begged for us to buy them some this year. They pestered Andi about it so much that he promised to get them some if they’d stop asking. From that point forward, he made them refer to silly string as “uncle condor” whenever they asked about spraying it. We’ve been carrying around these “uncle condor” cans all week looking for a respectful place to release them. Tomorrow we’re getting on a plane, so it’s now or never.

The property manager didn’t seem super excited about it, but she agreed to let us spray the cans at the very edge of the property in a wooded area. We drove to a field and let the kids loose with two cans of spray. After all their hype talk, I think Tory and Aden were disappointed. The silly string was white, not colored like they thought, and it didn’t spray very far. Anyway, Dad earned some fun points for seeing his promise through.

From Morada del Sol lodge, we drove into downtown El Bolson to grab lunch. The town’s artisan market was happening again today, so we figured it’d be fastest finding something to eat there. It was just after Noon and most of the food trucks weren’t open yet, but we did manage to get two pieces of cheese pizza for the kids, an order of French fries, and four empanadas for Andi and I. We found a bench by the playground and sat down to eat our food.

It was pretty neat to see this park completely full of locals sitting in circles on the park grass, drinking mate together, and playing with their kids on the playground equipment. I appreciate the slower pace of living here in Argentina.

Next, we hopped back into “Barry” (our rental car), and drove to Laberinto Patagonia south of El Bolson. Aside from hiking to refugios (huts) in the mountains, this maze is a popular tourist activity in the area.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived were the immaculately kept grounds. This may have been the prettiest garden I’ve seen in all of Argentina. In addition to the maze, there’s a modern-looking bar/restaurant on the property, as well as an art gallery, cafe, gift shop, and an expansive lawn where people can sit on benches or picnic in the grass.

We decided to go through the maze first, so we paid $9,500 Argentine Pesos ($50 USD, or half that amount using the Blue Dollar exchange). The giant maze is broken into two parts with sitting areas scattered throughout.

Andi bought he and I cups of hot tea to drink while we walked through the maze, and we laughed because the tea was black licorice flavored. Interesting flavor profile, but it felt nice to drink something warm on a cool, windy day.

Tory and Aden were ready to take off running the second their feet hit the entrance of the maze, but I encouraged them to stay close to us the first time through. I wasn’t sure how complicated this maze was, or how long it would take us — the last thing I wanted were for my kids to be lost somewhere in this place! Aden grumbled about having to stay close, saying that was the whole point of this place was to RUN!

The kids each had their own ideas about the direction in which we should go. It took us about 30 minutes to walk through the entire maze without stopping. We kept bumping into the same groups of people navigating the maze and it was fun to see everyone smiling and laughing together as we all tried to figure out this human-sized puzzle.

At the end of the maze, Andi and I told Tory and Aden they could go through it again — this time without us. “The first person who makes it back to Mom and I in the grass,” Andi said, “earns 100 Argentine pesos.” Tory and Aden raced off through the maze while Andi and I walked back to the other side. Not even 10 minutes later, Tory popped out of the exit door. She is so clever at figuring out this type of thing! “I win!” Tory shouted. A few minutes later, Aden came barreling out of the maze, huffing and puffing with his hands resting on his knees.

Andi awarded Tory $100 pesos as her prize. “I’m still a winner because I got some popcorn as my prize,” Aden said. The four of us laid in the grass munching on popcorn and watched other families enter and exit the maze. It was fun to hear the shouts and giggles from others having fun in there.

Aden demanded a rematch, and eventually Tory agreed. This time, Andi offered up $200 pesos as the winning prize. The kids sprinted off through the maze entrance, making it back to us in about 10 minutes. Tory won again, and collected her prize money as she fell into a tired heap on the grass beside us. Poor Aden — always a step behind Tory in everything they do together. Though, watch out, Tory — he’s growing fast and gaining size on you.

Before we left, Andi pulled out his drone and flew it over the maze. It was even cooler to see the maze from this point of view showing all the intricate designs, twists, and turns. When we were inside the maze, it was impossible to tell where we were going or what shape the sidewalk made.

The property manager at the first place we stayed in El Bolson told Andi about a secret beach at the end of the Laberinto road, so we decided to go there next. We followed a gravel road for about 10 km through a forest of trees. A few simple farmhouses occasionally dotted the road. There were no signs for the beach, so we used Google Maps to lead us in the direction of Lago Puelo and prayed ol’ Barry (our rental car) would be able to make it back up the hill.

At the end of the road, we came upon a small opening and parked our car there. A white camper van I saw at Laberinto was also parked there. The four of walked down a dirt trail that opened up to a breathtaking view of Lake Puelo. Wow!

We said “hola” to the camper van couple sitting on a log, and continued walking down the beach shaded by large trees hanging overhead. What a sight! Aside from the couple we passed on the beach, we had this entire slice of paradise to ourselves.

Andi got his drone out again and flew it over Lake Puelo. It’s so neat to see the expansiveness and solitude of these Argentinian lakes. This is the same lake we visited on Tuesday when we first arrived in El Bolson, just a different side of it. This side of the water and the landscape surrounding it looked completely different than it did the other day.

Tory immediately got to work adding onto an existing fort that had been crafted from sticks and branches on the sand. She gave orders for Aden to collect more sticks from the tree line, and he happily obliged while she dressed up the entrance with leaves.

Andi and the kids monkeyed around on what looked to be the makings of a dock or a viewing platform, and then we made our way back to the car. Andi and I hoped Barry had enough get-up-and-go to make it up the gravel road, and fortunately the car did. We didn't have any issues navigating onto the highway leading south toward our next lodging in El Hoyo.

As we entered the village of El Hoyo, we approached a viewpoint and decided to turn in for a look. The mountains opened wide into a colorful valley before us. It was beautiful.

Not far from there, we pulled into our accommodations for the night. Andi had a hard time finding a last-minute place for us to stay tonight (likely because it’s the weekend), and stumbled upon Criollo B&B. We had no idea what type of place this would be. When Andi contacted the owner and let them know we don’t speak Spanish, he jokingly messaged back, “Well, you will by the time you leave here.”

As we walked up to the front door, our family was greeted by a teenage boy named Johnny. He had the biggest, warmest smile and invited us into the house. Johnny didn’t speak English, so Andi used Google Translate to let him know our family was checking in for the night. He showed us inside and led us to two rooms. Aden and Tory would share one bedroom, and Andi and I would share another room next door to the kids.

This house was gorgeous! Its entire interior was crafted with dark wood and smooth, greenish-brown stone floors. So many neat details lended to its character from the half-opening barn door on the kids’ bedroom, to the comfortable living room with fully stocked bar, an old bicycle propped up beside one of the walls, and a massive open kitchen where the owner, Ariel, does all the cooking. Ariel is a chef by trade and cooks meals for guests who stay here.

Ariel and Liz, the owners of Criollo B&B, arrived shortly after we got settled into our rooms. We didn’t converse with them too much since we couldn’t speak Spanish, but Johnny helped to translate our wishes for dinner. Ariel was preparing tapas, lamb skewers, ravioli, chorizo beef with vegetables, and chocolate mousse with raspberries for dessert. There was a little confusion translating back and forth how many courses of food we wanted, and what foods should be prepared for the kids. We also requested dinner to be ready at 9:00pm which you could tell was a bit earlier than the time it is usually served around here.

Andi flew his drone over the property which really interested the teenage boy, Johnny. Through Google Translate, Johnny told Andi that the secret beach we went to today was “dirty” and that the really nice beach was at the end of their road. If what we saw today was the “not so nice” beach, I can’t imagine how gorgeous Johnny’s place is!

Tory and I played a few rounds of King’s Corner at the dining room table. As a thoughtful gesture, Ariel put on some music for us — Christmas music. That made Tory and I smile. We do like listening to Christmas music; we just don’t normally do it in February! Maybe it was the only music Ariel had in English, and we appreciated him trying to make us feel at home.

Around 7:00pm, Tory and Aden both complained they were hungry, but I didn’t have any food to give them except for a granola bar in my bag. Ariel must’ve sensed the kids wanted a snack because he brought over a bowl of chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries to the table. “How did he know?” Tory exclaimed. I suspect it’s because Ariel is a dad and knows kids like dessert.

At 9:00pm, we sat down to dinner at the big dining room table. Ariel prepared several small dishes of cheese, cold meats, bread, and house-made marmalade. Next, we dined on spinach salad and lamb skewers with a homemade tzaziki sauce. For our main entrees, Andi, Aden, and I feasted on beef with roasted vegetables and crispy french fries while Tory ate handmade cheese-stuffed ravioli in cream sauce. Ariel served us chocolate mousse with raspberries in a martini glass for dessert, and by that point we were all completely stuffed. We finished eating around 11:00pm and the kids were practically falling asleep at the table. We thanked Ariel for a delicious dinner and then made our way to our bedrooms for the night. Is there any pleasure greater than eating a five-star meal in your socks and then walking a few steps to bed? I think not.

Tomorrow, Ariel is preparing us breakfast before we leave El Hoyo, and then we have a two-hour drive back to the Bariloche airport. The time has come to say adios to Patagonia’s Lakes District.